A 35-YEAR-OLD Shurugwi neighbourhood watch committee member has been sentenced to 18 years for raping a woman who had sought assistance from him following a domestic dispute.
STEPHEN CHADENGA OWN CORRESPONDENT
Instead of assisting the victim aged 41, Tichaona Chikuvadze of Falcon Gold Mine raped her.
The accused will, however, serve an effective 15 years after regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire suspended three years for five years on condition of good behaviour.
The State’s case was that on September 7 2012 at around 8pm, the complainant had a heated argument with her husband’s second wife and after failing to resolve the quarrel, the complainant went to a neighbour who referred her to the neighbourhood watch committee member.
At around 9pm, the woman went to Chikuvadze’s house where she presented her case.
Chikuvadze took her to a police officer on patrol and she (the cop) advised him to bring the other wife the complainant had had a misunderstanding with for counselling at Shurugwi Police Station. On his way back with the complainant, Chikuvadze grabbed her and tripped her to the ground before raping her.
The woman later reported the matter to her brother who phoned a local Criminal Investigations Department officer who informed Shurugwi police, leading to Chikuvadze’s arrest.
